#GCCWATERPOLO – The race to the 2026 Golden Coast Conference Championship begins this weekend as league play begins with No. 19 San Diego State traveling to No. 21 California Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 14. It will be the first of 35 conference matchups as the road to the annual GCC tournament begins.
The battle between two top-25 teams in GCC play highlights a full schedule in week five of the collegiate water polo season. There are 20 games on the schedule this week as the league continues its fast start to 2026 after another impressive showing in week four. The league is posting a .577 winning percentage (41-30) through the first month of the season.
Highlighting week four was Azusa Pacific running their win streak to five games, improving to 8-3 on the season with wins over CSU Monterey Bay and Redlands. No. 13 Fresno State, No. 21 San Diego State and No. 22 Pacific all went 2-2 at the Arizona State tournament.
LMU posted a pair of comeback wins over top-15 opponents, defeating No. 12 UC Irvine (9-7) and on the road at No. 13 UC San Diego (9-8) to move their record to 8-3 on the season. California Baptist traveled east to the Villanova Wildcat Invite, going 2-2 with wins over host Villanova (18-15) and No. 22 Wagner (14-13). Their only two setbacks came against top-13 opponents in No. 13 Princeton (14-12) and No. 8 Harvard (15-9).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Emmie Ramirez led California Baptist with 17 goals and 10 assists for a 27-point weekend over four games to earn GCC Player of the Week honors for Feb. 12. Ramirez scored hat-tricks in every match for CBU, including two games of five goals against (RV) Villanova and No. 22 Wagner, both wins. Ramirez had a nine-point performance (5 Goals, 4 Assists) against Villanova, which was a career-best game for her. She would also lead CBU with 13 steals during the tournament.
2026 Player of the Week Honorees:
Feb. 12 – Emmie Ramirez, California Baptist
Feb. 5 – Anna Tarantino, LMU
Jan. 29 – Katelyn Mobley, Fresno State
Jan. 22 – Mimi Stoupas, San Diego State
WEEK FOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Azusa Pacific ran their winning streak to five games last weekend, earning wins over Cal State Monterey Bay (11-8) and Redlands (20-4) to improve to 8-3 on the season. Leading the way was senior Montana George as she scored six goals with three assists and two steals.
Senior Hailey Andress led Fresno State in scoring at the ASU Invitational, scoring 15 goals in the four games. She had a season-high six goals in the Bulldogs' dominant win over UC Santa Barbara (26-9). Over the weekend, she became Fresno State's all-time leading scorer with over 220 career goals. Andress led the Bulldogs in scoring in all but one game on the weekend as Fresno State also defeated California Lutheran (22-4), while falling to No. 6 Arizona State (13-11) and No. 18 Marist (13-10).
LMU freshman Emison Styris had a breakout performance last weekend, scoring the game-winning goals in the comeback wins over No. 12 UC Irvine (9-7) and No. 13 UC San Diego (9-8). Styris finished the weekend as the team leader in goals (six) and points (eight). Styris finished both her shot attempts for goals in Friday's win over the Anteaters, including a go-ahead goal late in the third quarter and the game-winning goal with 3:53 remaining in the fourth. Not to be outdone, Styris scored a career-high four goals, including the game winner with one second showing on the clock against UCSD.
Pacific freshman Maria Ikonomou registered 11 goals and two assists over four games at the Arizona State Tournament for the Tigers, who went 2-2 in four games. She tallied a career-high five goals on seven shots in the setback to No. 18 Marist (16-11) after recording three goals and an assist in the loss to No. 6 Arizona State (17-5). Ikonomou followed it up with a pair of goals against UC Santa Barbara (17-7) and one over Cal Lutheran (19-8).
San Diego State was also in Tempe for the ASU Invite and senior Sydney Gish led the Aztecs with 13 goals, seven assists and five steals. She earned her 100th career goal on the weekend, scoring at least three goals in all four games on the weekend. She helped SDSU to wins over UCSB (18-8) and Cal Lutheran (21-1), with setbacks coming to ASU (15-10) and Marist (14-13).
A LOOK AT WEEK FOUR
February continues with another 20-game week for the Golden Coast Conference, highlighted by the first conference matchup of the 2026 campaign as No. 19 San Diego State travels to No. 21 California Baptist for a top-25 showdown.
All seven teams are in action this weekend as tournaments once again dominate the schedule. No. 13 Fresno State is at the annual Barbara Kalbus Invitational hosted by UC Irvine and they will open a four-game set against No. 2 UCLA on Friday. No. 22 Pacific and Santa Clara are at the Bronco Invitational with four games Friday through Sunday.
Azusa Pacific is at another Arizona State tournament, this time playing four games Saturday and Sunday at the Sun Devil Invitational. Meanwhile, LMU hosts a tripleheader, facing Chapman and Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.
Here is a look at the full slate of games for week five:
Friday, February 13
#25 CSUN at Santa Clara – 11:30 A.M. (Bronco Invitational)
#20 Brown vs. #22 Pacific – 2:30 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
#13 Fresno State vs. #2 UCLA – 3:00 P.M. (Kalbus Invitational)
Saturday, February 14
#13 Fresno State at Barbara Kalbus Invitational – TBA
#12 Marist at Santa Clara – 9:45 A.M. (Bronco Invitational)
Chapman at #9 LMU – 10:00 A.M.
#19 San Diego State at #21 California Baptist – 12:00 P.M. (GCC)
#25 CSUN vs. #22 Pacific – 12:15 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
La Verne vs. Azusa Pacific – 12:40 P.M. (Sun Devil Classic)
LIU Brooklyn vs. Azusa Pacific – 3:20 P.M. (Sun Devil Classic)
Cal State Monterey Bay vs. #22 Pacific – 4:00 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
Cal State Fullerton at #9 Loyola Marymount - 4:00 P.M.
#20 Brown at Santa Clara – 5:15 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
Sunday, February 15
#13 Fresno State at Barbara Kalbus Invitational – TBA
Azusa Pacific vs. Biola – 11:40 A.M. (Sun Devil Classic)
Pomona-Pitzer vs. #22 Pacific – 12:30 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
CSU Monterey Bay at Santa Clara – 2:00 P.M. (Bronco Invitational)
Azusa Pacific at #6 Arizona State – 2:20 P.M. (Sun Devil Classic)
Wednesday, February 18
#22 Pacific at Fresno Pacific – 7:00 P.M.
NATIONAL POLLS
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25 after week four has LMU ranked ninth with 68 points, followed by Fresno State at a tie for No. 13 with Princeton with 48 points. San Diego State is ranked No. 19 with 27 points, with California Baptist at No. 21 (19 points) and Pacific at No. 22 (17 points).
Full poll >>
PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Fresno State has been picked to win the Golden Coast Conference in the 2026 season, according to the annual Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Friday. The seven GCC head coaches gave the Bulldogs 35 points, four better than second place LMU. Fresno State has won GCC tournament titles (2021-24) and three regular season titles (2021-23). LMU won last year’s tournament and the last two regular season championships. The two teams have faced off in the GCC title game three of the last four years, including epic battles in the last two title games. Fresno State earned five first place votes to LMU’s two to claim the top spot in this year’s preseason poll. Rounding out the poll is Pacific (26 points) at third place, San Diego State (21) in fourth, California Baptist (17) in fifth, Azusa Pacific (9) in sixth, and Santa Clara (8) in seventh. Find the full poll here >>
ROAD TO THE GCC CHAMPIONSHIP
The
2026 GCC Championship will run from April10-12 at Fresno State. The action begins Friday, Apr. 10 with three quarterfinal matches with the top seed earning a bye to the semifinals. It will continue with a pair of semifinals and a pair of consolation games on Saturday, Apr. 11. The tournament will close with the third-place game followed by the championship match-up on Sunday, Apr. 12. Every game of the 2026 GCC Championship will be streamed live thanks to a streaming rights partner Overnght Media.
Learn more >>
ABOUT THE GCC
The 2026 campaign will be the 13th season for the Golden Coast Conference and will feature seven institutions competing within the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Following the 2016 season, the women's division earned an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships, with the winner of the annual league tournament representing the GCC. In 2025, LMU knocked off four-time GCC champion Fresno State, who won the tournament in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. It was the Lions' third tournament title.
Heading into the 2026 campaign, Concordia left the GCC to join the Western Water Polo Association. The league's seven members in 2026 are Azusa Pacific, California Baptist, Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, San Diego State, and Santa Clara. This is the last season for the Lancers in the GCC, who will join the Big West in 2026-27. In that 2026-27 season, the GCC will consist of nine teams with Saint Mary's College, San Jose State and UC Davis joining the league.